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STUDY SKILLS
READING TEXTBOOKS
READING ENVIRONMENT
TAKING LECTURE NOTES
PREPARING FOR TESTS
TAKING THE TEST
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YOUR SUCCESS as a high school student will depend a great deal on how efficiently you use study skills at home and on how well you develop learning strategies at school. The Tennessee Education Association has collected some tips from classroom teachers to help you reach your full potential in high school.
GET ORGANIZED:
A "daily planner" for noting daily assignments, due dates for papers and projects, and other special activities will help keep you organized.
Have a notebook for every course. Color-code the notebooks so that you don't put the wrong assignment in the wrong notebook or accidentally get the wrong note- book from your locker.
Minimize the number of extracurricular activities (sports, jobs, organizations) in which you participate. Too many outside- of-class activities leave you less quality time to devote to schoolwork.
STUDY DAILY
Set aside a block of time each day to review previous material and to study new material. Don't try to cram the night before a test. Don't study for too long at one time. Instead, study in short blocks of time with a break now and then.
YOUR STUDY SPOT should be well lit, comfortable, and distraction free. The T.V., stereo and telephone often prevent you from concentrating and make your study time less efficient.
THINK of your daily study time as a way to avoid "information overload." Used regularly and wisely, daily study time will reduce your stress level and will help you improve your grades.
STUDYING IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT JOB for now. The pay-off will come in the form of passing grades and higher levels of achievement.
REST, RELAXATION, EXERCISE, and a PROPER DIET are all important parts of your preparation for school. A high protein, low sugar breakfast is helpful for maintaining a constant energy level all day.
BEFORE YOU START READING an assignment in a textbook, it helps to preview the materials.
PREVIEWING gives your mind an outline of the material you are about to read. The outline will act as a framework into which you can put the details of the chapter. Previewing is a way to help you to remember what you read.
Previewing consists of these steps:
a. Look at all of the illustrations, graphs, tables, etc. and read the captions.
b. Read all of the BOLDFACE words in the chapter. Topic headings and key vocabulary words are often printed in boldface.
c. READ the first and last paragraphs in the chapter.
d. BRIEFLY READ any questions, vocabulary lists, chapter summaries or chapter objectives if they are present.
e. SKIM the entire chapter. This means that you scan the material quickly, letting your eyes pick up words and phrases more or less at random.
f. TAKE BRIEF NOTES. Jot down words or phrases that are unfamiliar so that you can concentrate on them later.
USE THE GLOSSARY to clarify the meaning of words in the text.
USE THE INDEX to locate a particular topic or subject in the text.
READ in a distraction-free environment. Find an area where you can have uninterrupted blocks of time. Your study area is also probably your best reading area.
READ sitting or lying where you are the most comfortable, can stay alert, and are able to focus on the material to be read.
GOOD LIGHTING is a must. Light should come over your shoulder to avoid shadows. However, don't read in a dark room under a bright light.
IF YOU CAN'T READ for a reasonable time without getting tired, restless, or experiencing eyestrain; you may have a vision problem. Have your eyes tested if there's any question. If you are supposed to wear glasses, wear them.
DON'T TRY to write down everything the teacher says. Listen carefully until you understand the point that is being made, then write it down in your own words. Pay particular attention to examples.
LISTEN for leading statements. Examples: "The main point is....." or "Be sure to be able to...." or "The facts are....."
DEVELOP your own personal abbreviations of words to facilitate faster note-taking. Be sure that you will remember what your abbreviations mean.
DON'T BE AFRAID to ask questions when you don't understand. If you don't understand, the chances are that other people don't understand either.
GO OVER YOUR NOTES during your regular evening study sessions while they are fresh on your mind. Add whatever you need to make your notes clear. Underline or highlight points emphasized by the teacher.
If you let the notes sit until the night before an exam, they may make no sense to you at all. By looking over them while they are fresh in your mind, you'll have time to ask questions if you don't understand.
KEEP UP with your daily class work and long-range assignments. Once you fall behind, it's hard to catch up.
TAKE NOTES during class review sessions. Ask questions about what types of questions to expect. If you don't understand something, ask your teacher.
PICK OUT the major ideas and concepts of the test material. Learn the key vocabulary words. Make flash cards of vocabulary or terms. Have someone test you on them.
DON'T PANIC! Everyone feels tension before a test. Tension helps you stay alert. Let it work positively for you. This is when your daily study time at home will pay off!
ARRIVE prepared with pencils, paper, and other required tools for taking the test.
KNOW THE TIME ALLOTTED for taking the test.
READ THE ENTIRE TEST before you do anything else. This will allow you to:
Get rid of a few butterflies.
Choose the easiest questions to answer first.
Budget your time.
Let your subconscious mind work on the tougher questions. You'll find that when you come back to them, the answers often pop right out.
Pick up clues to some questions in other questions.
A quick, preview reading of the entire test will save you time in the long run.
LOOK FOR CLUES in the test questions themselves.
Use the process of elimination for matching or multiple choice questions.
In true/false tests, look for words such as all, always, never and none. If you can think of just one exception, the question is false.
For essay questions
(a) organize your thoughts first,
(b) write down a few key words and points to make,
(c) jot down a simple outline,
(d) then write your answer.
If you have trouble interpreting a question, think about the concepts that you studied. One of them will probably be the key to the answer.
DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME on one question. Skip it and return to it later.
KNOW IF YOU ARE PENALIZED for the number of wrong answers or scored only on the answers that are correct.
CONGRATULATIONS as you add these tips for developing good learning habits to YOUR PLAN FOR ACHIEVEMENT!
Educating Our Children, Engaging Our Parents, Empowering Our Schools
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